


Brainstorm

by PendragonQueen09



Series: Character Development [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Burnout - Freeform, Depressed Roman, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, as per usual, ideas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24566449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PendragonQueen09/pseuds/PendragonQueen09
Summary: Roman is too burnt out to write down his ideas.  Janus helps.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: Character Development [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756735
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Brainstorm

**Author's Note:**

> I think this one is longer than the others in this series but I was working through my own burnout so shh

Roman had been unable to create for days.

He sat in front of the blank page, stressing over every detail- well, when he managed to even sit in front of the page in the first place. In reality, a majority of his time was spent with the other sides. Avoiding his work.

He had so much work.

The others hadn't caught on yet to his bout of burnout- he'd been presenting them with ideas and drawings he made in advance for just such a situation, so none of them grew suspicious.

Unfortunately, old ideas couldn't last forever. He was running low on his stock, and the added pressure was only adding to the stress arising from being unable to create something new that he actually found somewhat decent. He was avoiding creating even more as he berated every idea he came up with and threw it in his trash.

Roman thought he was cautious enough about it- rambunctious enough that no one would notice his lapse.

If they noticed, they'd ask Remus for ideas instead- he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let them  _ replace _ him.

But of course, Roman wasn't quite the actor he thought he was.

"Struggling?" Came a smooth purr of a voice, making Roman jump at his desk before craning his head around to look in the doorway where a certain snakely side stood silently, after that initial word, his arms crossed as he leaned on the frame. Roman's eyes were dark, and it took him a moment to recognize the other. 

"Of course not. This is my purpose. I do not falter in my purpose," Roman responded, turning back to his page and frowning as he found it blank. It was such an obvious lie. He tapped his pencil to the desk surface, fidgeting as he looked for an idea he could at least write down without the self hatred that clawed at his lungs, making his arms too weak to progress.

"Someone isn't telling the whole truth," Janus whispered, -why was he whispering?- lifting himself up to sit on Roman's desk. When had he walked over? Janus' eyes searched Roman's own. "Or taking care of himself," he finished, voice just as soft.

"What do you care? I am doing my job."

"You say  _ that _ as if I am more likely to care about you doing your job." Janus inspected his nails- well, his gloves. "I am not Logan. I am not here to motivate you to work. I was thinking… something more similar to a break?" His eyes glistened, and his smirk widened, but he didn't look to Roman.

"I don't-"

"Ah, an obvious yes, perfect." The dark side hopped off of Roman's desk, walking around to his back where he- much to Roman's surprise, wrapped his hands over his shoulders and began rubbing- a massage?

Despite himself, despite the anxiety pressing against his mind, Roman relaxed into the touch, eyes fluttering shut as he gave a small hum.

"There we are- pushing yourself too hard- pushing Thomas too hard  _ will _ hurt you, Roman. And it is my job to make sure that never happens. You asked earlier why I should care-? Because, dear Creativity, just as your purpose is to create, my purpose is to be sure you do not go too far."

"I have to come up with an idea," Roman mumbled, eyes opening but unfocused on the paper. 

"I'm almost certain you already have one. It is only your self esteem that is leaving it in the back of your mind. Brainstorm with me, Roman, what's on your mind?"

Roman physically cringed, and Janus tutted, rubbing more firmly into his shoulders until he relaxed once more. 

"... Thomas does one of those electro- exercise things that you put on your abs. But it's no good, because it would cause him pain, and it would serve no purpose-"

"Hush, now, just the ideas- not the doubts that come with them."

Roman pouted, but took a deep breath. "Thomas builds a fort with his friends." But it was still the middle of a pandemic, and-

"Good. Keep going."

"A day in the life of every side. Separate videos for each of us." But the fans would be upset the videos were so far apart.

"Mhm, good, Roman."

"Virgil plays horror games." Roman smiled a little at that one. 

"It would be hilarious to watch, and the fans would adore the extra content." 

Roman's smile faded to a thoughtful frown, tapping his pencil against his chin. "... something similar to that, Patton doing animal crossing, myself and my brother playing minecraft together- oh, but that would require quite a bit of editing and extraordinarily fake content. People enjoy the raw reactions of playing video games. Oh, but maybe-"

"Yes?" Janus prompted as Roman trailed off, and the prince smiled.

"Scrap the video games one, separate videos for all of us with a song we wrote for ourselves, relating to our character. The fans would love that."

"Yes, they would," Deceit said cheerily, finally taking his hands off of Roman's back. "Feeling any better?"

"Stay with me longer. Just until I finish the ideas for the songs."

"How about until you finish the idea for one song, and then you take a break?" Janus requested, moving to sit on Roman's desk again. Creativity nodded, a spark in his eye that had been absent when the snake first arrived.

"It's a deal."

**Author's Note:**

> What Janus does in this round of Roman's Character Development is help him work through the bad ideas, in case it wasn't obvious. My form of burnout often comes from berating the ideas I have which causes me to become unmotivated for future ideas- which is what Roman is dealing with here. A positive presence like Janus being willing to listen to the "bad" ideas and help you bounce to the ones you might be more satisfied with, even if he doesn't fully understand the ideas Roman is coming up with, or the way Roman's mind works to jump from one idea to the next, is important- because just saying the ideas aloud to someone helps you retain a more neutral view to them to continue the flow of brainstorming that should never be hindered with perfectionism.
> 
> Notice that Janus doesn't actually let Roman say his ideas are bad- that's a very important part of this process. If Roman were to continue to hate his ideas aloud, or worse, for Janus to argue with Roman about whether or not a specific idea is bad, it would distract from any other ideas Roman has and make him spiral, leading Janus to instead have to reassure Roman of his self worth. While it may seem cold for Janus to say "I don't want to hear the doubts, just the ideas," in this case, it is extremely important.


End file.
